Zelda: Ocarina of Time is back: How the adventure changed video games forever
- Published
Some adults in your life may remember exploring the kingdom of Hyrule as children. Now, one of the most groundbreaking games of its time is being remade for a new generation.
Nintendo has revealed more details about its remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
The game will be released worldwide on 5 November 2026 and will only be available on the Nintendo Switch 2. The remake was first announced in June, but Nintendo showed its first extended gameplay footage during a special Zelda presentation on 8 September.
Nintendo said the adventure has been rebuilt for its latest console. Changes include updated graphics, full camera control and a button that lets the main character, Link, jump. A new feature called "Threads of Time" will remind players what has happened in the story and offer guidance about where to explore next.
A still showing Link playing the ocarina in the remade game
More on Zelda:
Zelda turns 40: How the game is celebrating it's birthday
- Published11 February
Zelda is being turned into a live-action movie
- Published8 November 2023
What is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time?
The original game, released in 1998, may look dated by modern standards, but it was groundbreaking in many ways
The original Ocarina of Time is an action-adventure game released for the Nintendo 64 in 1998.
Players control Link, the young hero seen in other Zelda games, who must explore the fantasy kingdom of Hyrule and stop a villain named Ganondorf from taking control.
During the story, Link travels seven years into the future and switches between his childhood and adulthood.
The game's name comes from an ocarina, a small wind instrument. Players learn tunes and perform them using buttons on the controller. These songs can change the time of day, open new routes and transport Link to different places.
Players are not left to explore Hyrule alone. Navi, a glowing fairy, joins Link on the adventure and offers clues, points out important people and objects, and helps players work out where to go next.
Why was the original Zelda: Ocarina of Time so groundbreaking?
Today, exploring a huge 3D world might not sound unusual, but in 1998 it was a big deal.
Ocarina of Time was the first Zelda game made with full 3D graphics, giving players a large fantasy kingdom to travel around and explore.
It helped developers work out how movement, combat and conversations could operate in three dimensions, and became an important step towards modern open-world adventures.
Using the z-button on the back of the N64 controllers to lock onto enemies was a mechanic that is now used in lots of modern video games
One of its most influential ideas was Z-targeting, Z refering to a trigger button on the back of N64 controllers.
It allowed players to lock the camera onto an enemy. Zelda developer Yoshiaki Koizumi later explained that cameras and battles were difficult to manage in 3D, so the team created "a bunch of new devices, one of which was Z-targeting". Similar lock-on systems are now used in many modern action games.
The original received widespread praise. Metacritic, which collects scores from professional reviewers, gives it 99 out of 100.
IGN, a website specialising in gaming and entertainment, awarded the original a perfect 10 out of 10, with one reviewer calling it "the best game we have ever played".
At the time, US publication The Electric Playground called it "the crowning jewel of the industry" and "Nintendo's finest achievement".
Reviewer TotalGames said Nintendo had "moved the goalposts", meaning it had raised expectations of what a video game could achieve.
